Rally planned as Tacoma’s children hospital limits trans gender-affirming care
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- MultiCare Mary Bridge ends new gender-affirming youth care, citing federal pressure
- Protesters plan Wright Park rally Friday; over 400 sign petition urging care reversal
- Officials state such care remains legal in Washington despite federal pressure
Some Tacomans plan to take to the streets Friday to protest MultiCare Mary Bridge Children Hospital’s recent decision to stop offering new youth patients gender-affirming care.
The “Rally to Defend Trans Kids” is hosted by the Tacoma and Pierce County Democratic Socialists of America chapter and will take place from 4-6 p.m. Friday at Wright Park, across the street from the medical campus.
A petition urging MultiCare and state Attorney General Nick Brown to reverse MultiCare’s decision has received more than 400 signatures, said Zev Cook. She’s running for a seat on the Tacoma City Council against incumbent Joe Bushnell but spoke to The News Tribune on Monday as a member of the TDSA’s Transgender Rights and Bodily Autonomy Committee.
For about 10 years, the MultiCare Mary Bridge Children’s Hospital in Tacoma was the only place youth could receive gender-affirming health care in Pierce County. Last month MultiCare representatives told The News Tribune they would no longer accept new gender-care patients or fill new prescriptions for hormone-replacement therapy or puberty blockers starting Friday “as we assess the changing federal expectations around our provision of medical interventions to minors as a treatment for gender dysphoria.”
In response to questions about the petition and rally, MultiCare said in an emailed statement on Wednesday that it was aware the protest was happening.
“Unfortunately, due to increasing risk coming from the federal government, we made the difficult decision to discontinue new or escalating gender-affirming care,” said spokesperson Kalyn Kinomoto. “We recognize the significance of the decision, and we deeply sympathize with the patients and families it impacts.”
As of Aug. 12, more than half of the 50 states had enacted policies limiting gender-affirming care access for youth. President Donald Trump has ordered the withholding of research and education grants from medical facilities that provide gender-affirming care to young people. He also has called for prioritizing criminal action against care providers, deeming gender-affirming care “chemical and surgical mutilation.”
A vast majority of studies show that gender-affirming care is safe and can significantly reduce suicidality in trans and nonbinary youth under 18, in some cases by over 70%, according to the Human Rights Campaign.
In response to questions about whether Brown would pursue legal action against MultiCare for limiting care, Mike Faulk, the deputy communications director with the Attorney General’s Office, wrote in an email Monday that a Washington state preliminary injunction “protects all providers in Washington” from Trump’s order.
“It is disappointing to see providers discontinue care that Washington officials — both in this office and across state government — have worked successfully to defend and protect. That said, with regard to state law, it’s not our policy to speculate publicly who is in compliance based on limited information,” Faulk said. “Our position is that gender affirming care for young people is legal under both state and federal law. We continue to fight the administration’s actions around this in court, thanks in part to the declarations of individuals, family members and providers who attest to how these services save lives. Your stories matter, and we will continue to defend your rights.”
Cook, who is a trans woman, said MultiCare’s choice hurts all transgender people. Cook said she and many other trans adults want “the next generation to have a better time of it than we did.”
“When we set the precedent that it is OK for these companies to do compliance in advance with Trump’s anti-trans policies, then that’s opening the door to more and more institutions saying that they are OK with tackling the issue in this way,” Cook said. “I think that it’s important that whenever and wherever these providers decide to cut off care in a way that violates our human right to health care, that we stand up and say that we’re not going to stand for that.”
This story was originally published September 11, 2025 at 9:00 AM.
